"We are the 300,000+" is a movement dedicated to raising awareness about the worldwide Lyme epidemic that is being ignored by the CDC and HMOs. Lyme patients from around the world are standing up to demand change.

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Take Action!

Please email Michael Mason, the editor of the health section at the NY Times, to demand that they start giving coverage to this story: mmason@nytimes.com. Here’s a letter that you can copy and paste:

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Dear Mr. Mason,

I am writing to request that the N.Y. Times gives more coverage to Lyme disease. With the recent CDC announcement that there are likely 300,000 new Lyme cases annually, it is clear that we are all at risk for this infectious disease and readers need to be better informed. While it’s encouraging that researcher Monica Embers was asked to provide an editorial in the recent NY Times series about Lyme disease, why has there yet to be a single article discussing her groundbreaking 2012 research showing that the Lyme infection persisted in rhesus monkeys? Why has the NY Times never discussed the conflicts of interest by the researchers who create the Lyme disease guidelines who have significant commercial interests in Lyme disease tests and vaccines: http://ire.org/blog/transparency-watch/2013/05/20/foia-request-cdc-took-five-years-fulfill/? And why has there been no investigation of the financial interests at play with HMOs and their lack of healthcare coverage of chronic Lyme disease: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=128770&page=1?

Please start giving proper coverage to this serious epidemic.

Sincerely,

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Please email Lyle Petersen, Director of the CDC Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, to demand that they change their Lyme disease guidelines: LRPetersen@cdc.gov. Here’s a letter that you can copy and paste:

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Dear Mr. Petersen,

With the recent CDC announcement that there are likely 300,000 new Lyme cases annually, it is clear that more needs to be done to address this serious public health crisis. Recent disclosures about conflicts of interest by CDC employees and other researchers due to significant financial interests in Lyme disease tests and vaccines raise serious questions about whether the CDC is upholding its duty to protect the public.

The CDC has previously failed to acknowledge that a chronic infection persists, while many patients, doctors, and researchers believe that it does. Seventy-seven peer-reviewed studies from 1977 to 2012 show that the Lyme infection can persist despite the recommended antibiotic treatment: www.lymeinfo.net/medical/LDPersist.pdf

The CDC is charged with protecting the public interest and I am writing to demand that changes in Lyme disease policy be made. I want the CDC to eliminate potential conflicts of interest and to focus research efforts on establishing whether tick-borne infections persist past the recommended treatment so that patients can receive proper treatment and we can safely establish blood donor guidelines